South Brunswick: U.S. Rep. Watson Coleman Will Not Attend Trump Inauguration

By CHARLES W. KIM

January 15, 2017 at 3:05 AM

Content Options

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman announces she will not attend Donald Trump's inauguration during a community forum in South Brunswick Saturday night.U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman announces she will not attend Donald Trump's inauguration during a ...Credits: Charles W. Kim Photo

By CHARLES W. KIM

January 15, 2017 at 3:05 AM

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ – U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12, will not be at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next Friday, she announced Saturday night.

“I am very concerned with this administration coming in,” Watson Coleman said to around 150 people during a “United Communities” town hall meeting at the Islamic Society of Central Jersey on Route 1. “I do not intend to attend the upcoming inauguration of the President of the United States.”

Instead of being at the noon event at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., next Friday, she will host an interfaith prayer vigil at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, she said.

“When this inauguration is taking place, we will pray for our country and the most vulnerable people, and we will pledge to stand together against evil wherever we see it, even if it comes out of the White House,” she said.

On Saturday, she said she take part in the Women’s’ March On New Jersey, one of 282 “sister marches” planned to coincide with the main march in Washington.

“We will stand against any aspect of dismantling of rights for women and anybody else,” she said. “The constituents of the New Jersey’s 12th District is a cross section of the many groups and millions of Americans that this incoming administration has turned its back on. Our nation is founded on democracy and inclusion that unfortunately our president-elect refuses to represent. I can think of no more important place to be than supporting my constituents and renewing my energy to fight for their freedoms.”

Watson Coleman is one of several members of congress that will not go to the inauguration.

In a broadcast interview on Friday, civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, also said that he would not attend and that he feels Trump is not “a legitimate president.”

“This is not a decision I take lightly,” Watson Coleman said in a statement issued after the town hall meeting. “The peaceful transition of power is a defining characteristic of our democracy. Inaugurations should serve as a celebration of the best of our nation-- a symbol of unity and strength. Unfortunately, it is increasingly clear that President-elect Trump is not just unfit for office, but his actions and promises threaten the very democracy for which we are supposed to gather to celebrate. I simply cannot in good conscious participate.”

Trump, a Republican billionaire businessman, upset Democrat, and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8, winning 306 votes and 30 states of the Electoral College.

Although winning the national popular vote by almost 3 million, Clinton only captured 21 states in the Electoral College, losing key swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan Wisconsin, and Florida.

It is the second time in 16 years that Democrats have won the popular vote, but lost the presidency.

Former Vice President Al Gore beat Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 election popular vote, but Bush became the 43rd president by inching Gore out in Florida to give him more than the required 270 Electoral College votes.

Trump’s unconventional and vitriolic campaign against Clinton led to protestors in the streets of major cities in the days following the election.

Many polls and pundits were sure that Clinton had a large enough advantage that several reported that she had an 80-98 percent chance of winning the election, and becoming the first female president in the nation’s history.

As the results came in, however, Trump kept winning states that were projected to fall for Clinton, including a “blue wall” of states in the “rust belt.”

During the campaign, Trump made several controversial remarks and campaign promises that included building a wall on the nation’s southern border with Mexico, threatening to deport millions of undocumented people that came into the country illegally, implementing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country from nations tied to terrorism and repealing Obamacare.

His election led to fear among several minority groups, leading to meetings like the event at the mosque Saturday night.

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ - The East Brunswick Mayor's Office and the East Brunswick Clergy Council are sponsoring a food drive to help those who are currently furloughed by due to the partial federal government shutdown as it enters its day.

"We feel terrible for the number of people who are caught up in the middle of a debate in Congress. Lives and income are at stake. We want to help those in ...

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ - The East Brunswick Mayor's Office and the East Brunswick Clergy Council are ...

NEW JERSEY -- 2019 marks what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 90th birthday, and this year, on the federal holiday that celebrates his legacy, East Main Media looks back on a very special project.

“The East Main Media team was honored to produce this video,” said CEO & Executive Producer, Brian Brodeur. The project was completed in 2016, and features an original arrangement ...

NEW JERSEY -- 2019 marks what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 90th birthday, and this ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ – As many gathered this weekend for civic and spiritual commemorations of the life and legacy of slain civil rights leader, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so too did members of the community at the Piscataway Senior Center.

King, whose January 15th birthday is officially recognized on Monday the 21st, a national holiday and day of service, was a major activist in the ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ – As many gathered this weekend for civic and spiritual commemorations of the life ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ – Sunday night, January 20 at approximately 11:41 p.m. a total eclipse of the moon will be visible, weather permitting. Because the moon will nearly be in perigee, or the closest to the earth in its orbit, it will be a “supermoon.”

According to Spaceweather.com, in perigee the moon appears nearly eight percent wider than the average full moon. Normally it would also appear ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ – Sunday night, January 20 at approximately 11:41 p.m. a total eclipse of the moon ...

SPOTSWOOD, NJ - Each season the Spotswood High School girls varisity basketball team dedicates one of their remaining home games to a different charity. This year the team is hitting the court on February 4 to help Appleby Elementary fourth grader Nicholas DeLieto in his very personal quest. The soon-to-be 10 year old has spearheaded Nicholas' Trek with Tourettes, partnering with the New Jersey ...

SPOTSWOOD, NJ - Each season the Spotswood High School girls varisity basketball team dedicates one ...

SOMERSET, NJ - State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and community leaders from New Jersey and New York spoke to students about ways they can combat bigotry and hate at Rutgers Preparatory School’s Stand Up for the Other Day on Wednesday.

Senior Research Fellow with the Sikh Research Institute Harinder Singh, Rabbi Eli Garfinkel of Temple Beth El in Somerset, Rev. Ann Kansfield of the ...

SOMERSET, NJ - State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and community leaders from New Jersey and New ...

QUINCY, MA – Stop & Shop has announced a recall by Perdue Foods, LLC of approximately 68,244 pounds of ready to eat chicken nugget products. The action comes after three people filed complaints of finding wood in the food according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The nuggets were produced on October 25, 2018: 22 oz plastic bag packages of frozen “PERDUE SimplySmart ...

QUINCY, MA – Stop & Shop has announced a recall by Perdue Foods, LLC of approximately 68,244 ...

NEW YORK, NY - The National Weather Service reports that rain, heavy at times, will continue to about noon today. This afternoon temperatures will drop to around 25 and remain below freezing for the rest of the day and into Monday.

These temperature drops produce a condition called 'Black Ice" - the road may appear wet but is actually frozen, resulting in mororists losing ...

NEW YORK, NY - The National Weather Service reports that rain, heavy at times, will continue to ...

PISCATAWAY, NJ — Winter storms, bad weather and sloppy road conditions are a factor in nearly half a million crashes and more than 2,000 road deaths every winter, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. In fact, AAA states that about 46 percent of all crashes involving bad weather take place in the winter.

AAA analyzed bad weather and crashes over a five-year period. The study ...